UPDATE: Bank of America Reiterates Coca-Cola at Buy on Solid Footing for 2013

In a report published by Bank of America, analyst Bryan D. Spillane reiterated his Buy rating and $41 price target on The Coca-Cola Company

. Bank of America reported that, “We recently attended an offsite meeting of KO business unit presidents. The meetings provided an opportunity to interact with business unit leaders which enabled us to make the following qualitative observations: 1) Our impression is that managers are generally optimistic about prospects to generate the growth required to achieve the company's 2020 vision and goals; 2) The continuity of strategy and management may be perceived as “boring” by some investors relative to the myriad of turnaround stories in the food and beverage peer group, however re-accelerating sales and profit growth will enable KO to recapture investor attention; 3) Despite the recent macro headwinds, the company appears committed to maintaining investment in marketing, R&D, and growth capital; 4) There is a willingness to explore adjacent categories via strategic M&A (Santa Clara in Mexico is an example) and investment in innovation; 5) Marketing around the obesity/wellness area is a meaningful component of the strategy and we expect to hear more about this in coming months; 6) Questions regarding ROIC and bottlers suggest to us there is a thoughtful process regarding how best to maximize value and that there is no “one size fits all” answer; 7) Sustainability is integral to overall strategy.” Shares of the Coca-Cola Company closed at $38.60 on Wednesday.